My Brother's Keeper
by SoulfullyInclined
Summary: What if Jesse was the one with cancer? I don't own anyone. *Life and quality of the story depends on the reviews*. *Please Leave More Than A 2 Word Review*. *Please Review*. *Be Nice/Kind*. Edited.
1. Jesse

**Jesse**

I was lying in a white narrow hospital bed that September morning, waiting for a blood transfusion yet again. I'd been waiting here for an hour. My parents and younger sisters Kate and Anna were in the waiting room, also waiting. Around me were other cancer patients, all waiting for something. I had cancer.

I was 15 and should've been in my first year of high school. But instead I was here, stuck in the hospital. I was sick bc of my cancer.

"But Mo-om. I really want to go-oh," Anna, who was 10, whined from the waiting room.

She was obviously bored and impatient.

"No, Anna," Mom said.

"It's not fair."

"Nothing's fair in this world Anna," Kate, who was 13, replied cynically.

She sounded like she was speaking from experience which, she was. Id had cancer since I was 2 and due to this I often got more attention than my sisters. I always had. It embarrassed me to no end when my mom was the one taking care of me when I got sick. When my dad did it it wasn't as emotional which I liked. They both knew I was old enough to take care of myself but my mom didn't want me to grow up. Just wait untill I graduated high school if I even lived that long.

On the bed next to me was a girl about my age, bald. She was wearing peridot earrings and a white paper hospital gown. But even without hair she was beautiful, albeit thin.

"Hey," she said

"Hey," I returned.

"What are you here for?"

"AML, you?"

"Same. Cool, we match."

"That's a rarity in females," I said.

"Yeah. It is. But we're all rarities I suppose."

"In our own way. I like your earrings."

"I have to dress myself up somehow. And thanks."

"Mmmhmm. You a Leo?"

"No I'm a Cancer."

"Really?"

She laughed; "no. But it's what I have. We have. Yes, I'm actually a Leo."

"Cool so's my sister."

"How old?"

"13."

"And you're?"

"15."

"Uh huh. Waiting for something?"

"Isn't everyone?" she looked at me and smiled.

"Yeah. Me, for my blood cell count. You?"

"Transfusion."

Nurses wandered in and out of the room, talking.

"I'm Shannon by the way," she told me.

"Hey. Jesse."

Her eyes scanned the room.

"You'd think, with all these nurses coming in and out, they'd get to us," she said.

"Yeah. Hurry up and wait."

"You spending the whole day here?" she asked.

"Yeah, you?"

"Most likely."

"What do you do when you're not here?"

"Listen to music. Go to school. Play guitar. Draw."

"Cool."

"And you?"

"I like to read, also listen to music. Write. What kind of music?"

"Oh anything," I answered, "Zeppelin, Loreena McKinnett, Bowie, Coltrane, Eurythmics, Ray Charles. Anything."

"Coltrane, really?"

"Yeah."

"Wow. McKinnett, I never would've guessed."

"Oh. Really?"

"Yeah you seem, kind of angry..." she observed.

Well wouldn't you be if youd had cancer your whole life?

I guess she thought I came off as brooding. And not the nicest person.

"You think I'm angry you should meet my sister," I said.

Who, at that very moment, walked into the room dressed entirely in black.

"What about me?" she asked.

"Hi Kate nice to see you too," I said.

"Oh shut it. I like your earrings," Kate said to Shannon.

"Thank you. You have beautiful hair."

"Thank you."

Kate walked off.

Shannon unconsciously raised a small hand to the back of her bald head.

"Oh wow," she said, surprised.

"Weird?" I asked.

"Yeah. I used to have hair like Kate's. She seems...um. Nice."

I laughed.

Kate had thick black hair to her shoulders.

"Yeah she's a real charmer," I said sarcastically.

Shannon laughed.

"Well. This is boring," I stated.

"You're tellin me. I've been here since 4 this morning."

"Wow. I've been here since 8."

It was now 10.

"You got any pets?" she asked.

"No, you?"

"Yeah a dog."

"Anna loves dogs. What kind?"

"A golden retirever. She's beautiful. Very sweet."

I smiled.

"My sister's here somewhere. Annas yours?" Shannon said.

"yeah. Yours is older?" I asked.

"Yeah she's 17 and...doesn't eat. When she dies, I get one of her kidneys. If I'm lucky. Or, if shes lucky."

"You want her to die?"

"No Jesse I don't _want_ her to. I'm just sayin, since she's a match."

"Oh. She as nice as you are?" I asked smiling.

"When she wants to be. She's kind of a mix between myself and Kate."

My dad walked into the room.

"Hey Jess," he greeted me casually.

"Hey."

"Oooh she's cute. Who's the girl with the nice earrings?"

Shannon blushed.

"Dad don't embarass her," I said.

"I'm sorry."

"And I'm Shannon Mr..." Shannon said to my dad, who'd turned to her.

"Fitzgerald, pleased to make your acquantence."

They shook hands.

"My daughter has earrings like that," Dad told Shannon.

"Yeah I just met Kate. Well, kind of. She seems...nice."

Dad smiled; "yeah she's quite a handful."

Shannon smiled.

"When's your brithday?" she asked me.

"November."

"Oh, so you have a month or so."

It was early September.

"Yeah I'll be 16."

Dad sat down in a chair.

"I'm still older," Shannonn said as though it was a competition.

"Only by a few months," I said.

At that moment Anna walked into the room caryring a coloring book and crayons. She climbed onto Dad's lap.

"Jesse, loook what I did," Anna said.

She opened her coloring book to a golden retriever colored in green.

"That's so cool," I said.

"Do we have a little artist in the family? Besides you," Shannon asked me.

"I like coloring," Anna told Shannon looking at her.

"Hey, me too," Shannon said.

"I like the green, very creative," Dad said.

Shannon peered at the picture.

"Hey, that looks like our dog," she said.

Anna turned and looked at Shannon.

"I like dogs," she said.

"That's what your brother was telling me."

"I like your earrings."

"Thank you."

"Are you sick like my brother?"

"Yes."

"Cmon Anna," Dad said, looking down at his small black pager, "I'm needed."

They left the room.

Dad didn't like that anna had asked such an honest question. He thought it had bothered Shannon. I wasn't sure myself. Whether or not it had.

"You were great with her," I told Shannon.

"Well she's so cute! I love kids."

She smiled again. I was beginning to notice this. That she smiled a lot.

"Yeah I can tell. She's like this with everyone."

"How old?"

"10."

"Where's your dad have to go?"

"Oh, he's a firefighter."

"Oh. And your mom?"

"Is a lawyer."

"Your dad's nice."

"Yeah...Kate's a lot like my mom, who you haven't yet met."

At that moment a woman with long black hair, pale skin and eyes the same color as Shannon's entered.

"Have they taken it yet?" she asked Shannon.

"No."

"You would think with all these people milling about...oooh he's cute."

The woman looked at Shannon then me.

"Mom! Don't embarass us."

"Us?"

"Yeah as in...friends, us. Right?" Shannon asked me.

"Um yeah. friends."

I suddenly felt very awkward.

"Hi I'm Lily, Shannon's mom," she told me.

"I figured, being that she just called you 'mom'," I stated.

We shook hands.

Shannon's mom left.

"Sorry about that," Shannon apologised.

"It's ok."

I was hungry but knew enough not to eat since that would disrupt my blood count, somehow.

"So maybe hen you're not in the hospital we could do something," I told Shannon.

"Sure, I'd like that. Maybe Anna could meet my dog."

"She'd love that."

"Ok."

"Um. I'll need your number though...to, you know. Call you."

As though that wasn't obvious.

Shannon handed me a pen. She gave me her digits which I wrote on my hand, then handed the pen back to her.

At that moment the nurse came in to deliver the blood transfusion, which didn't take long.

I changed behind a curtain and walked into the hallway where my family was waiting.

"Oh finally," Kate said.

"Kate, be nice," Mom said; "how'd it go?"

"Good, didn't take long," I replied.

"He met a girl," Dad put in.

Apparently dad hadn't needed to go right away. He just wanted to get anna out of there.

Mom smiled.

I pulled out my cell phone and dialed the number written on my hand.

"Hello?" Shanon's voice asked.

"Hey, it's me. Er, I mean, Jesse. Just wanted to make sure you didn't give me a fake number. I guess some girls do that...well, according to my dad, at least."

"Omygod!" she squealed.

Wow. Were all girls like this?

"So I'll talk to you sometime soon. Or maybe we'll see each other before I call. You. Wow. I'm sorry I should probably go," I said, realising I was rambling.

We hung up.


	2. Shannon

**Shannon**

I was sitting in a hospital bed waiting for my white blood cell count, when a guy my age walked in. He sat on the bed next to me. We were both wearing hospital gowns.

We talked, because there really wasn't much else to do except wait. Discovered we both liked music and that we both had cancer. He was nice but seemed brooding and angry though it was understandable why. I briefly met his sister Kate who was a lot like my sister April, tempermental. I met his dad, who was nice and his other sister Anna, who was friendly and showed me a page she'd colored. She was cute. The coloring page was of a green golden retriever. I thought it was cool and very creative. She asked if I had cancer like my brother. I wasn't bothered by her honesty but apparently mr. fitzgerald jesses dad was. I wasn't sure how jesse felt.

Mom came into the room, commenting that Jesse, the guy I'd met, was cute, embarassing the both of us.

Before Jesse left I gave him my number.

At that moment my older sister April walked into the room. She was really pretty and thin of course.

"Hey," I said, glad to see her; "they let you out."

By which I meant theyd finally let her out of the hospital.

"Yeah finally. Anything new happen?"

"Medically, no. I met a guy."

"Omygod is he cute?"

"Yeah and he's nice too."

At that moment my phone rang. I flipped it open.

"Yeah hello?"

"Hey it's me. Er I mean Jesse," he said.

'It's him' I mouthed to April. She smiled.

Jesse prattled on on the phone and I hung up after a few minutes.

"So?" April asked.

"We didn't make plans. He prattled the whole time."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Said he wanted to make sure I hadn't given him a fake number."

"Yeah, girls'll do that."

"Oh, I met his family with the exception of his mom. Our mom came and made things awkward."

"Of course. What's his family like?"

"His dad's nice. His sister Anna's friendly. And cute. She's 10. His other sister Kate's a lot like you."

"Oh thanks Shannon," April said sarcastically.

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah."

I was surprised we hadn't made plans. I thought we would. At her age april was often tempermental.

"So how are you doing?" I asked her.

"Well, I've been sleeping a lot because of the drugs they're giving me. Insomnia, as you know, is a survival tactic. They also want me to have Ensure, which I don't like. They say it's either that or an IV and I'd almost rather have the IV."

"Mmmhmm."

The less you eat the more youre awake untill your body gets food in it. Its really annoying. Apparently. April and id spent many nights awake talking. I knew she often didn't like the taste of food. Which was why shed rather have the IV.


	3. Chapter 3

**Jesse**

After we left the hospital we went home where we all spent the rest of the day. And now it was dinner time, 5. We were all sitting around the dinner table, even Kate as much as she didn't want to be. On the table was a big bowl of pasta, parmesan cheese and a basket of garlic bread.

"What happened that you were needed for?" Mom asked Dad, looking at him while putting her forkful of pasta in her mouth.

"Someone intentionally set fire to a tree. We had to rescue a kitten that was in the tree. The fire had spread to nearby trees. Took us awhile to put it out," he replied.

Kate looked down at her pasta and twirled it around her fork. She was trying to be inconspicuous. But id caught on.

"How was work?" Dad asked Mom looking at him..

"OK. Still trying to prosecute that perpetrator."

"Rape case right?"

"Yeah."

Kate gasped.

'You ok?' I mouthed, looking at her.

'Yeah, fine' she mouthed back.

"What does 'rape' mean?" Anna asked looking at mom.

"It's something very awful," Kate answered, taking a sip of her water.

She looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Oh. Do people go to jail for it?"

"Yes. That's what we're trying to decide right now, if the guy's innocent or guilty," Mom told Anna.

Dad looked at me.

"Whan are we going to meet this young lady?" he asked.

"You already met her," I returned.

"Who?" Mom asked.

"The girl he was talking to at the hospital," Kate replied.

As usual mom didn't have any idea.

"Oh. She nice?"

"Yeah."

"She had on green earrings," Anna recalled.

"Oooh green."

"Just like Anna's coloring page," Dad said.

"You'll have to show me after dinner," Mom told Anna.

And yet mom was interested in annas day.

"Ok," she said.

"How was your day hun?" Dad asked Anna.

"Good. I colored. We're making leaves."

"Are all the 4th graders doing that?" Dad asked, turning to Mom.

She nodded; "yeah."

He often wasn't sure what was going on at annas school.

"I'd like to see them sometime," Dad told Anna.

"How'd the transfusion go?" Mom asked me.

"Good."

Kate pushed her chair back and stood up. She walked out of the room. Mom turned her head. She walked down the hall.

"Kate!" she called; "come finish your dinner."

There wasn't an answer just the slam of Kate's bedroom door down the hallway.

Dad's beeper beeped.

"Hey, I have to go," he told Mom, standing.

"Another fire?" she asked, looking up at her.

"Yeah."

He bent down and kissed her.

He left.

I stood up, pushing my chair back.

"Excuse me," I said.

"Sure," Mom said.

I walked down the hall to Kate's room. As I was walking I heard the front door open and close. Dad had left the house. It was a short dinner.


	4. Kate

**Kate**

I was sitting at the dinner table with my family, observing. Mom asked Dad why he had to be called away from the hospital that morning. He told her someone had intentionally set fire to a tree. At which point I looked down at the pasta. I didn't want to make eye contact with my family. If I did I'd have to talk, to reveal what I'd done earlier that day. They probably didn't notice that I had left the hospital earlier than them.

Mom said she was dealing with a rape case and I couldn't help but gasp. A friend of mine at school, Trixie had been raped a year ago. She hadn't been the same since.

They talked about Anna's day and Jesse's transfusion. And the girl he'd met at t he hospital.

I'd left the table early and had gone to my room. I was now writing in my MySpace blog. No one in my family knew I had a MySpace. Not even Jesse.

A knock came on my door.

"What?" I called, annoyed.

"It's me," came my older brother's voice.

Oh.

"Come in," I said.

He opened the door and entered, closing the door behind him. I closed the MySpace window.

"So," I asked, whirling around in the black office chair my mom had given me for my room.

I had moved into my room when I turned 13, that was my birthday present. My day-after birthday present had been giving more bone marrow to Jesse.

I used to share a room with Anna.

"Whatsup?" I asked, facing my brother, who was tall and thin.

"I wanted to see how you were doing," he told me.

"I'm fine. What do you care?"

"Really, Katie?" he asked, leaning forward, peering into my ice blue eyes with his warm brown ones, the same color as our dad's.

"Damnit," I swore.

Whenever he called me 'Katie' he knew how to get to me.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I rolled the chair closer to the bed, which he was sitting on.

I showed him my bare pale arms, which had several new cuts on them. In the space between dinner and the knock on the door, I'd cut.

"Oh. Because of me?" He asked.

"Because of everyone...Anna...you."

"She's only 10."

"Yeah. But she could stand to notice there was something wrong. The way you do."

He stood up and wrapped me in a hug.

"I'm sorry Katie," he whispered.

I leaned into his thin frame.

"I'd die if it meant you'd be happy," he told me.

"Omygod," I said, tears filling my eyes; "I don't want you to die."

"I know. No one does. But I want you to be happy."

He sat back down on my bed. I joined him. We stayed like that for awhile.


	5. Chapter 5

**Shannon**

It was later that night. April, who was out of the hospital for the night, and I were in our bedroom. Mom was downstairs. The sun had set around 5 that night. Outside, it was dark.

My phone rang.

"Hello?" I asked, flipping it open.

"Hey. It's me," Jesse said.

"Omygod!"

"Wow. Are all girls like this?" he asked.

I laughed.

"Is it him?" April asked from her bed.

I looked at her and nodded: "yes."

"What?" the voice on the phone asked.

"Nevermind. I was talkin to my sister."

"Oh."

"How are you?" I asked him.

"Ok. You?"

"Better now that you've called."

"She out of the hospital?"

"Yeah, for the night."

I glanced at April, who was smiling.

"How'd the rest of your day go?" he asked.

"Ok. You?" I answered.

"Ok."

"You got plans for tomorrow?"

"Other than more waiting, no. You?"

"No. Why?"

"I was thinking Anna could meet Sunflower," I said.

"Sunflower?"

"Our dog."

"You named your dog Sunflower?" Jesse asked, laughing.

"Well, she looks like one!" I protested; "and it's better than Fluffy. Or Whiskers."

"Those are both cat names," April pointed out.

"Oh," I said.

"Or Rover. Yeah, that's original," I said into the phone.

"Were your parents hippies or something?" Jesse asked.

"Yes," I answered seriously.

In the backround I heard Jimi Hendrix singing 'and the wind cries Mary'.

"Really? That's cool," Jesse said.

"I love this song," I said.

"And the wind. Cries. Mary," Jesse sang.

I joined in, dancing on my bed. April was looking at me, giggling.

The song ended.

"Yeah she'd love that," Jesse said into the phone.

"Ok I'll see you tomorrow," I said.

We hung up.

"So?" April asked, still smiling.

"He's coming over tomorrow," I told her.

"Oooh."

I smiled.

"He's bringing Anna to meet Sunflower. He couldn't get over the fact that our dog's name was Sunflower."

"You told him our parents were hippies huh?"

"Yeah."

"You're hilarious when you dance Shannon."

"He was playing Hendrix in the backround."

"Oooh, wind cries Mary?"

"Mmhmmm."

"You want me to do your nails?"

"Yes!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Kate**

After Jesse left my room I flipped my cell phone open and called my boyfriend Jason.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey."

"Whatsup?"

"Oh, the usual. No one asked about me at dinner. Jesse had to have a blood trasnsfusion again. He met a girl at the hospital."

"Wow. Want to come over?"

"Ok. How was your day?"

"Boring, compared to yours."

"Kate!" Mom called back.

"Hold on," I said into the phone.

"Sure."

"Kate!"

"What?!"

"Don't forget you have an appointment tomorrow morning."

I sighed, annoyed.

"Kate!"

"What, I heard you!"

"Sorry about that," I said into the phone.

"No problem. So I'll see you in a few?"

"Yeah."

"Bye hun."

"Bye."

We hung up.

I walked down the hall to Jesse's room where I knocked on the door.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Hey, it's Kate."

"Whatsup?"

"I'm going out for a few hours."

"You need me to come with?"

"No, no."

"Ok. Be careful."

"Thanks."


	7. Brian

**Brian**

It was several hours later. Sara and I were sitting on the white couch in the warm dim living room. The fireplace was behind us, crackling. The tv was on the wall in front of us. We were watching the news, neither interested in the story. Jesse and Anna were upstairs, and Kate had gone out.

"We got the fire put out. Turns out, it had been set by a smoker," I said.

"Oh."

Sara had her hands wrapped around a white ceramic cup of tea.

She cleared her throat: "Anna's right. It's not fair."

"To her...to Kate. Jesse misses so much school."

"He's missed so much that he might not be able to get caught up."

"Shannon seems nice," I said.

"Shannon?" my wife asked.

"The girl he met at the hospital today. Didn't you meet her?"

"Uh. No. I was talking with Alice, at the time. Kate has her appointment tomorrow."

Alice was a hospital nurse our family knew.

"Sara," I said, my voice low.

"What?"

"What if Kate doesn't _want,_ to give blood? She doesn't _want,_ to do this?"

"Jesse needs blood."

"And why can't you give him some of yours? I have."

"Brian, besides you, Kate's the only match."

"You finally thought about Kate," I muttered.

Sara turned her blonde head to me, lifting her thin eyebrows; "what was that?"

"Nothing."

"_Of course_ I thought about Kate. I'm always thinking about Kate."

"Yes, in regards to Jesse. And what about Anna? One day she might fade into the backround and then who knows where she'll end up."


End file.
